The leader of the workflow planning team (WPT) must walk through the laboratory following the defined workflow process from start to final test report and through delivery of the report to any provider(s). It is best to walk through with a workflow participant or participants to gain better insight into what works and what doesn't. Some common challenges include TAT, bottlenecks, and nonstandard practices. With stakeholders that participate in workflow during every step of the process represented, each step in the current process is identified and mapped in sequential order. Stakeholders are then asked to describe each thing they do, describe what they do most often, and which steps are the most stressful and most prone to error. Important to the process is to identify the value-added steps and eliminate the non-value-added steps. Value-added steps are steps that are absolutely necessary for the workflow process. Examples are drawing the sample (or receiving it), centrifuging, analysis, and release of results. Manually logging in results on a spreadsheet file and manually writing the label on the specimen container are examples of non-value-added steps.
Typical desired outcomes for workflow planning are improved consistency, reproducibility, quality, efficiency, and staff safety, as well as an increase in the return-on-investment metrics.
Because multiple staff may be involved at different steps in the process and on different shifts, it is important to create a standard work document of the workflow process that everyone will follow. In creating the work document, the team will be able to identify areas for improvement in the current workflow process. The team will be asked to list value-added steps and non-value-added steps in the workflow process. The appropriate ones will be implemented in the new workflow process.
